"Hanoi's War" takes the reader from the marshy swamps of the Mekong Delta to the bomb-saturated Red River Delta, from the corridors of power in Hanoi and Saigon to the Nixon White House, and from the peace negotiations in Paris to high-level meetings in Beijing and Moscow, all to reveal that peace never had a chance in Vietnam.

Using a comparative approach to incorporate research initiatives into a global context can make a significant contribution to the current understanding of migration. In partnership with the Social Science Research Council, the Kennan Institute will host leading specialists on migration issues from Russia and the United States to discuss their most recent work, as well as share preliminary findings from research supported by the National Science Foundation. This research was conducted as part of the MINERVA initiative grant “People, Power, and Conflict in the Eurasian Migration System,” led by Cynthia Buckley, Beth Mitchneck, and Blair Ruble.

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, many American policymakers have grown increasingly concerned about terrorists or terrorist materials being smuggled into the United States from Canada. The myth that the 9/11 hijackers arrived in the United States through Canada contributed to the passage of laws that have increased the “thickness” of the border and hindered trade in the name of collective security. Do these rules safeguard against the true vectors of North American extremism? The Canada Institute’s “Terror and North America: The Causes and Directions of Cross-Border Extremist Activity” will examine how and why extremists travel between Canada and the United States, what effect these crossings have on our national security, and what possible policy solutions exist to better police the border.

The Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna in collaboration with the Wilson Center's Nuclear Proliferation International History Project will host an international conference on the history of the IAEA during the cold war years. The conference will cover a wide range of issues, including the creation of the Agency, its role in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and the Agency's technical programs. Beyond that, the conference seeks to discuss the cultural, societal, and economic context of the IAEA's early history.

The defeat of Egypt and Syria in the 1967 is often described as a deathblow to pan-Arabism, and it did indeed gravely undermine the regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Egyptians, Syrians and Palestinians had in fact already begun to shift towards narrower nation-state nationalism even before the 1967 war, which merely confirmed this reorientation.

Japan’s policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, more broadly, on Middle East issues generally has been shaped by two key factors: Tokyo’s quest for oil, and its awareness of the wider international diplomatic and political setting. Unfortunately for Japan, these two considerations have frequently pushed Japanese policy makers in opposite directions. Historically, Japan has preferred a low-key approach to the region. But in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Tokyo has faced increasing pressure to become more engaged--more specifically, to contribute to the U.S.-led war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Does Japan aspire to be a relevant player in the Middle East? Can it play such a role, if it wishes to do so? Wilson Center visiting scholar Yuka Uchida will discuss these and related issues as she explores the post-9/11 evolution of Japanese policy in the broader Middle East.